Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK, June 5 Investors expecting a sudden
surge in bitcoin's price, after it underwent a technical
adjustment three weeks ago that reduced the rate at which new
coins are generated, may have to wait a few months, or perhaps a
few years.

NEW YORK Investors expecting a sudden surge in bitcoin's price, after it underwent a technical adjustment three weeks ago that reduced the rate at which new coins are generated, may have to wait a few months, or perhaps a few years.

NEW YORK Crypto intelligence company CipherTrace, which started tracking cryptocurrency crime a few years ago, said it has started to see coronavirus-related frauds that require some form of digital currency payment.

NEW YORK, May 22 Longer-dated U.S. Treasury
yields fell on Friday, as risk sentiment turned sour after
Beijing proposed imposing a new security law on Hong Kong,
exacerbating China's strained relationship with the United
States.

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, May 22 U.S. Treasury yields fell on
Friday, as risk sentiment turned sour after Beijing proposed
imposing a new security law on Hong Kong, exacerbating China's
strained relationship with the United States.
U.S. 10-year and 30-year yields slid to one-week lows, while
the yield curve flattened for a fourth straight session.
China's overnight announcement about the security law in
Hong Kong, following last year's pro-democracy rallies, drew a
stern reaction from the Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo condemned the proposal as arbitrary and said it could
affect the favorable U.S. treatment of the territory. He said
the United States stands with the people of Hong Kong.
"The markets are now paying close attention to some of the
pre-coronavirus activity or headlines such as those related to
Hong Kong and China, and now that's weighing on the market a
little bit in terms of pushing yields lower," said Jim Barnes,
director of fixed income at Bryn Mawr Trust in Devon,
Pennsylvania.
In late morning trading, U.S. 10-year yields
fell to 0.660% from 0.677% late on Thursday, after earlier
falling to a one-week low of 0.627%.
Yields on U.S. 30-year bonds were at 1.373%,
down from up from 1.398% on Thursday. Earlier, 30-year yields
dropped to a one-week trough of 1.329%.
U.S. 20-year bond yields were also lower at 1.311%
.
On the short end of the curve, U.S. two-year yields were
last at 0.163%, down from Thursday's 0.167%.
The yield curve flattened some more on Friday, with the
spread between the 10-year and two-year narrowing to 49.30 basis
points.
Overall, traders expected Treasuries to remain rangebound
for awhile, absent a vaccine or treatment for the novel
coronavirus.
"The technical profile in the U.S. rates market offers very
little to inspire one to expect a defining trading session
anytime soon," said BMO Capital in a research note.
"This brings us well into June at this point and the
prospects for a breakout dwindle the longer 10s remain
stubbornly between 54 basis points and 78 basis points."
May 22 Friday 10:55 AM New York / 1455 GMT
Price Current Net
Yield % Change
(bps)
Three-month bills 0.12 0.122 0.000
Six-month bills 0.1525 0.1547 0.008
Two-year note 99-237/256 0.1635 -0.003
Three-year note 99-196/256 0.2042 -0.008
Five-year note 100-60/256 0.327 -0.011
Seven-year note 99-248/256 0.5046 -0.013
10-year note 99-176/256 0.6574 -0.020
30-year bond 96-240/256 1.375 -0.023
DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS
Last (bps) Net
Change
(bps)
U.S. 2-year dollar swap 9.00 0.50
spread
U.S. 3-year dollar swap 6.00 0.50
spread
U.S. 5-year dollar swap 3.50 0.50
spread
U.S. 10-year dollar swap -0.75 0.75
spread
U.S. 30-year dollar swap -45.50 1.25
spread
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)

* U.S. Treasury announces 2-year, 5-year, 7-year auctions
* U.S. TIPS auction show mixed results
* U.S. yield curve flatter going into month-end
(Adds new comment, updates prices)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, May 21 U.S. long-dated Treasury prices
inched higher on Thursday in choppy trading, as investors were
relieved that the flood of debt supply from the government to
finance its stimulus programs was absorbed in the market fairly
smoothly.
That said, the front-end of the curve has been under mild
pressure amid a record $127 billion in supply for U.S. two-year,
five-year, and seven-year notes.
"The supply, with additional bills, notes, bonds, has all
been well-received overall even though the Federal Reserve has
trimmed its purchases," said Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst,
at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
Wednesday's auction of $20 billion of U.S. 20-year bonds,
the first such sale since 1986, was considered a success even
though the yield came just a little higher than market
expectations at the bid deadline.
Analysts also said investor buying going into the month-end
next week also boosted longer-dated Treasury prices.
"People usually buy duration toward the month-end extension
so that brings some flattening bias," said Zhiwei Ren, portfolio
manager, at Penn Mutual Asset Management in Philadelphia.
"I have been seeing a lot of dealers putting on flatteners
today because the dealers know that fund managers will come and
buy the 30-year to extend duration."
The yield curve was flatter on Thursday, with the spread
between the 10-year and two-year, as well as the five-year and
30-year, narrowing to 50 basis points, and 105
basis points, respectively.
On Thursday, the Treaury sold $12 billion in 10-year TIPS
(Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) and the results were
mixed. The note was awarded at a yield of -0.47%, compared with
-0.51% at the bid deadline, suggesting investors demanded a
premium to buy the paper. There was decent demand though from
indirect bidders, which include foreign central banks, taking up
62.1% of bids accepted.
In afternoon trading, U.S. 10-year yields were
at 0.678% from 0.679% late on Wednesday.
U.S. 20-year bonds traded at 1.163%, from 1.187%
on Wednesday.
May 21 Thursday 3:04PM New York / 1904 GMT
Price Current Net
Yield % Change
(bps)
Three-month bills 0.1275 0.1297 0.006
Six-month bills 0.145 0.1471 -0.003
Two-year note 99-234/256 0.1694 0.008
Three-year note 99-188/256 0.2144 0.005
Five-year note 100-42/256 0.3415 0.012
Seven-year note 99-220/256 0.5206 0.003
10-year note 99-124/256 0.6785 -0.001
30-year bond 96-100/256 1.3978 0.000
DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS
Last (bps) Net
Change
(bps)
U.S. 2-year dollar swap 8.50 0.00
spread
U.S. 3-year dollar swap 5.50 0.25
spread
U.S. 5-year dollar swap 3.00 0.00
spread
U.S. 10-year dollar swap -1.50 0.50
spread
U.S. 30-year dollar swap -46.50 1.25
spread
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David
Gregorio and Chizu Nomiyama)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, May 21 U.S. long-dated Treasury prices
rose on Thursday, as investors were relieved that the flood of
debt supply from the government to finance various stimulus
programs during the pandemic has been absorbed in the market
fairly smoothly.
That said, the front-end of the curve has been under mild
pressure ahead of the U.S. Treasury's announcement on auction
sizes for two-year, five-year, and seven-year notes, as well as
the sale of $12 billion in reopened 10-year TIPS.
"There's a little bit of relief that we got through the sale
of the 10-year, 20-year, and 30-year," said Justin Lederer,
Treasury analyst, at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
"The supply, with additional bills, notes, bonds, has all
been well-received overall even though the Federal Reserve has
trimmed its purchases."
Wednesday's auction of $20 billion in U.S. 20-year bonds,
the first such sale since 1986, was considered a success even
though the yield came just a little higher than market
expectations at the bid deadline.
Analysts also said bonds were also well-bid as global
equities fell amid growing tension between the United States and
China on the origin of the novel coronavirus.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected on Wednesday
President Xi Jinping's claim that Beijing had acted with
transparency after the outbreak in China, and said if Xi wanted
to show that, he should hold a news conference and allow
reporters to ask him anything they liked.
In morning trading, U.S. 10-year yields was at
0.678% from 0.679% late on Wednesday.
A day after its maiden sale in more than three decades, U.S.
20-year bonds traded at 1.165%, from 1.187% on
Wednesday.
Yields on U.S. 30-year bonds were at 1.390%,
down from 1.398% on Friday.
The yield curve flattened on Thursday, with the spread
between the 10-year and two-year narrowing to 50 basis points
.
May 21 Thursday 9:59 AM New York / 1359 GMT
Price Current Net
Yield % Change
(bps)
Three-month bills 0.12 0.122 -0.002
Six-month bills 0.14 0.142 -0.008
Two-year note 99-233/256 0.1714 0.010
Three-year note 99-186/256 0.2171 0.008
Five-year note 100-44/256 0.3399 0.010
Seven-year note 99-224/256 0.5184 0.000
10-year note 99-140/256 0.672 -0.007
30-year bond 96-184/256 1.3841 -0.014
DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS
Last (bps) Net
Change
(bps)
U.S. 2-year dollar swap 8.25 -0.25
spread
U.S. 3-year dollar swap 5.25 0.00
spread
U.S. 5-year dollar swap 3.00 0.00
spread
U.S. 10-year dollar swap -1.50 0.50
spread
U.S. 30-year dollar swap -46.75 1.00
spread
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David
Gregorio)

NEW YORK Investors are likely to snap up 20-year bonds when the U.S. Treasury sells them on Wednesday for the first time in more than three decades, pulling out all the financing stops to mitigate the economic havoc from the coronavirus pandemic.

* U.S. 30-year yields rise to 8-week high
* U.S. 10-year yields climb to 2-week peak
* U.S yield curve steepest in 2 months
* Moderna vaccine news helps lift sentiment
* Focus on U.S. 20-year bonds
(Adds new comments, 20-year bond outlook, updates prices)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, May 18 U.S. Treasury yields advanced
on Monday, as investors grew optimistic about a potential
vaccine that could help fight the coronavirus pandemic, boosting
overall risk appetite as stocks and oil gained as well.
The upcoming supply of U.S. 20-year bonds also weighed on
long-dated Treasury prices.
U.S. 30-year yields climbed to eight-week peaks, while those
on the 10-year rose to two-week highs, and the two-year advanced
to a one-week peak. The rise in long-dated yields steepened the
yield curve to its widest spread in two months.
"Positive news like the vaccine (news) is really taking a
lot of the momentum out of the Treasury market," said Justin
Hoogendoorn, head of fixed income strategy for Piper Jaffray.
Moderna Inc said on Monday its experimental
COVID-19 vaccine showed promise in a small early-stage trial,
with the vaccine producing virus-neutralizing antibodies similar
to those found in recovered patients.
No approved treatment or vaccine is available for COVID-19,
the pulmonary disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and
experts predict a safe and effective vaccine could take 12-18
months to develop.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday expressed hope a
vaccine would be in place before the end of the year, and said
his administration would mobilize its forces to get a vaccine
distributed. [nL1N2CX1NF
In afternoon trading, U.S. 10-year yields rose
to 0.735% from 0.64% late on Friday, after rising earlier to
0.744%, a two-week high.
Yields on U.S. 30-year bonds were at 1.445%, up
from 1.32% on Friday. Earlier, 30-year yields rose to 1.46%, the
highest since late March.
On the short end of the curve, U.S. two-year yields were
last at 0.181%, up from Friday's 0.149%, hitting a one-week high
earlier of 0.185%.
The yield curve steepened for a second straight day on
Monday, with the spread between the 10-year and two-year
widening to as much as nearly 56 basis points,
the widest spread since March 20. On Friday, that gap was at
49.60 basis points on Friday.
The curve has steepened since the beginning of the pandemic,
as investors have piled into short-term debt, having ruled out
rate hikes in the immediate future.
Investors are also bracing for the $20 billion U.S. 20-year
bond auction on Wednesday. The last time a 20-year bond was sold
was more than three decades ago.
"The Fed will be in, buying and taking out some of the
supply will be helpful for the 20 year auction," said Piper
Jaffray's Hoogendoorn. "It will naturally create more demand."
The Federal Reserve has bought $1.5 trillion in Treasuries
since the middle of March, but has tapered its purchases this
week to an average of $6 billion per day, from $7 billion the
previous week.
May 18 Monday 3:17 PM New York/1917 GMT
Price Current Net
Yield % Change
(bps)
Three-month bills 0.1175 0.1195 -0.005
Six-month bills 0.15 0.1522 0.000
Two-year note 99-228/256 0.1813 0.032
Three-year note 99-170/256 0.2378 0.050
Five-year note 100 0.375 0.067
Seven-year note 99-136/256 0.5689 0.083
10-year note 98-240/256 0.7355 0.095
30-year bond 95-68/256 1.4451 0.125
DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS
Last (bps) Net
Change
(bps)
U.S. 2-year dollar swap 9.00 -0.75
spread
U.S. 3-year dollar swap 5.00 -1.25
spread
U.S. 5-year dollar swap 3.25 -0.50
spread
U.S. 10-year dollar swap -2.25 0.00
spread
U.S. 30-year dollar swap -47.75 -0.50
spread
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reporting by
Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Richard Chang and Nick
Zieminski)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, May 18 U.S. Treasury yields rose on
Monday, as investors grew optimistic about a potential vaccine
that could help fight the coronavirus pandemic, boosting overall
risk appetite as stocks and oil gained.
The upcoming supply of U.S. 20-year bonds also weighed on
long-dated Treasury prices.
U.S. two-year, 10-year, and 30-year yields climbed to
one-week highs, while the yield curve steepened.
"We're having a sell-off in Treasuries because on the macro
front here, we have more good news on the coronavirus," said
Stan Shipley, fixed-income strategist, at Evercore ISI in New
York.
"Death count is going down, and the new cases are coming
down as well and there is some positive news on the vaccine," he
added.
Moderna Inc said on Monday its experimental
COVID-19 vaccine showed promise in a small early-stage trial,
with the vaccine producing virus-neutralizing antibodies similar
to those found in recovered patients.
No approved treatment or vaccine is available for COVID-19,
the pulmonary disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and
experts predict a safe and effective vaccine could take 12-18
months to develop.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday expressed hope that a
vaccine would be in place before the end of the year, and said
his administration would mobilize its forces to get a vaccine
distributed. [nL1N2CX1NF
In late morning trading, U.S. 10-year yields
rose to 0.688% from 0.64% late on Friday, after rising earlier
to 0.692%, a one-week high.
Yields on U.S. 30-year bonds were at 1.395%, up
from 1.32% on Friday. Earlier, 30-year yields rose to a one-week
peak of 1.401%.
On the short end of the curve, U.S. two-year yields were
last at 0.177%, up from Friday's 0.149%, hitting a one-week high
as well of 0.179%.
The yield curve steepened for a second straight day on
Monday, with the spread between the 10-year and two-year
widening to as much 52.4 basis points, from 49.60
basis points on Friday.
The curve has steepened since the beginning of the pandemic,
as investors have piled into short-term debt, having ruled out
rate hikes in the immediate future.
Investors are also bracing for the $20 billion U.S. 20-year
bond auction on Wednesday. The last time a 20-year bond was sold
was more than three decades ago.
May 18 Monday 11:02AM New York / 1502 GMT
Price Current Net
Yield % Change
(bps)
Three-month bills 0.12 0.122 -0.002
Six-month bills 0.155 0.1573 0.005
Two-year note 99-229/256 0.1793 0.030
Three-year note 99-182/256 0.2221 0.034
Five-year note 100-32/256 0.3495 0.042
Seven-year note 99-192/256 0.5367 0.051
10-year note 99-72/256 0.6996 0.060
30-year bond 96-40/256 1.4076 0.088
DOLLAR SWAP SPREADS
Last (bps) Net
Change
(bps)
U.S. 2-year dollar swap 9.00 -0.75
spread
U.S. 3-year dollar swap 5.50 -0.75
spread
U.S. 5-year dollar swap 3.50 -0.25
spread
U.S. 10-year dollar swap -2.25 0.00
spread
U.S. 30-year dollar swap -47.50 -0.25
spread
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Richard
Chang)

World News

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